Coverage of the Madison Common Council elections in 2007

The spring 2007 elections may have a decisive effect on the future of Madison, thanks in large part to the unusually large number of new faces on the city council.

Nearly half of the body turned over following the elections on Apr. 3, with 9 new alders joining the 20-member body. The new council emerged from an original pool of 46 candidates: six incumbents runnin unopposed, five challengers taking on another five incumbents, and another 30 candidates vying for nine open seats.

As much as the membership of the council changed, though, many elements of the body remained the same. No incumbent facing a challenge was defeated, while only a singe incumbent-backed candidate lost in the races for an open seat. Additionally, the general balance of power between council factions remained largely unchanged.

Coverage by Isthmus and The Daily Page of this spring's Madison Common Council elections follows::

The Daily Page also conducted Q&As with most of the candidates running in the council elections. These started with individual interviews with 22 of those 28 candidates facing a contested primary. A second round queried both candidates in all 14 contested races.

A complete list of candidates follows, complete with links to campaign websites and incumbents denoted in italics and winners underlined. Q&As conducted with council candidates before the primary may be found linked through their name, while general election Q&As may be found linked through their respective districts.